Contents

Origin of magical abilities

Muggle-borns inherit magic from a distant ancestor; they are descended from Squibs who have married Muggles and whose families had lost the knowledge of their wizarding legacy. The magic resurfaces unexpectedly many generations later.[4]

Because of the heritable traits of magic, Muggle-born siblings are possible, as in the case of Colin and Dennis Creevey. However, this is not always the case, as Lily Evans' sister Petunia was a Muggle.

When Muggle-born witches and wizards reach the age of eleven in the British wizarding community, their Hogwarts acceptance letters are delivered in person by a member of the staff, instead of by owl post (the usual postal system for wizards and witches). The purpose is to reassure the parents or guardians about the sudden news, and explain to them about the concealed magical society. They would also assist the family with the preparation for going to their desired wizarding school and for the buying of school supplies.[5]

Attitude towards Muggle-borns

Muggle-born witches and wizards are often subjects of deeply prejudicial and discriminatory beliefs akin to racism. Derided by pure-bloods and called disparaging names such as "Mudblood", a term implying that they are somehow dirty and impure. Many pure-bloods believe that Muggle-borns are unworthy of magic and should not be allowed into the wizarding world. During the period of time where Muggle-borns were being persecuted, a news article from the Daily Prophet stated that Muggle-borns could have only obtained magic by force or theft.

History of persecution

"Muggle-borns are being rounded up as we speak... unless you can prove that you have at least one close wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment."

Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, argued that the school should only admit pure-bloods as students, as Durmstrang Institute does. Slytherin's views were considered unusual at the time; most wizards of his era not only accepted Muggle-borns but actually considered them especially gifted, and referred to them by the affectionate term "Magbobs".[2] The other three founders of Hogwarts favoured admitting all witches and wizards as students and opposed Slytherin on this point.

When Voldemort seized control of the Ministry of Magic in 1997, Muggle-borns were required to register with the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. Political propaganda claimed that Muggle-borns were really Muggles who had stolen magic from "real" witches and wizards, supported by research supposedly carried out by the Department of Mysteries. The Ministry continued to promote the belief with the distribution of agitprop such as the pamphlet Mudbloods and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society. The Commission punished anyone who could not prove to have wizarding heritage for this alleged action, sentencing them to Azkaban. Anyone who resisted was threatened with, and perhaps given, the Dementor's Kiss. They also issued two Ministerial Decrees stating that it was any wizards' duty to report suspected "Mudbloods" to them and that failure to do so would result in imprisonment.

This led some Muggle-borns, such as Dirk Cresswell, to forge their family trees. Those who refused to register, such as Ted Tonks, were forced to go on the run and were pursued by Snatchers, sometimes fatally.

The Slug Club, Slughorn's hand-picked students, some of which are Muggle-born

There are also indications that a subtler, less virulent form of prejudice against Muggle-borns is relatively common in the wizarding world. For example, Horace Slughorn discriminated more on the grounds of talent or fame, rather than blood status. Thus he included talented Muggle-borns such as Hermione Granger, Lily Evans, and Dirk Cresswell among his favourite students.

However, Slughorn generally expected his more talented students to be pure-bloods, and was surprised when Muggle-borns performed very well. When he remarked upon this to Harry Potter in 1996 and Harry responded coldly, Slughorn was genuinely surprised, and insisted that he was not prejudiced.[7] This may indicate that even among those who do not believe Muggle-borns are inherently inferior or "dirty", there tends to be a false belief that most Muggle-borns are less magically talented than those with a full or much recent wizarding heritage. However, Slughorn could have also meant that since Muggle-borns are not raised around magic, it is all the more astonishing when they do very well in school.

The Ministry of Magic also seemed to have mildly favoured pure-bloods for many years before it was reformed after the Second Wizarding War, as there were still "pro-pure-blood laws" in existence, which Hermione later eliminated. Albus Dumbledore also once accused Minister for MagicCornelius Fudge himself of placing too much importance on blood purity, as Fudge was sided more with old, wealthy and influential pure-blood families such as the Malfoys, and looked down upon those who had less wealth and more affiliation with Muggles, like the Weasleys[8].

It was a widely held belief in the wizarding world that Muggle-borns were more likely to produce Squib children and slower to show signs of magic in childhood than pure or half-blood wizards. These stereotypes were disproven by the Institute of Muggle Studies, though they also disproved the positive beliefs that Muggle-borns have greater immunity to wizarding illnesses and a natural sense of rhythm.[9]

↑It is possible Nick was Muggle-born, due to him having been petrified by the Basilisk

↑There is some confusion over Penelope Clearwater's blood status. In Chamber of Secrets, Penelope was petrified along with Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione Granger, Nearly-Headless Nick, and Mrs Norris. The petrifications were described as a series of "four attacks on Muggle-borns" in chapter 14 and Ginny Weasley (possessed by Tom Riddle's memory) was described as having "set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat" in Chapter 17. However, it is possible that the fourth Muggle-born in addition to Colin, Hermione, and Justin (who are all definitively identified as Muggle-borns at some point) was Nearly-Headless Nick, and that Penelope was simply petrified because she was with Hermione when she encountered the basilisk. In Deathly Hallows, Hermione posed as Penelope when under interrogation by Snatchers, and claimed to be half-blood. Although, Hermione may have only lied about Penelope's blood status because mentioning she's Muggle-born would have possibly made things worse.